Second Chance
by TheDealBreaker
Summary: Kingdom Hearts 3 left us with some solid notes and some not-so-solid notes... Here we explore the Reaper's Game involving one of the characters we lost.


"I am the piece of Ventus that was taken away, and you're the piece Ventus needed to be whole again. So... why shouldn't you and I look exactly the same? You define me, Sora, the same way that Ventus does. We are brothers, who, together make a greater whole."

"Then why won't you stand by our side? Instead of with Darkness?"

"Because I _am _Darkness. And I do stand by your side. I'm the shadow that you cast. How much closer could I be?"

"But I didn-" "But I didn't ask for this" Ventus intervined. "To be sifted apart, nice and neat. We should be free to choose. Not just Light, not just Darkness. _We _decide what we are."

"But... Ventus, I _did _decide who I am. You see?"

"And what you are is Darkness?"

"What I am is Darkness."

"...Okay"

"How is that okay? Vanitas!"

"Heh..."

"That was the last conversation I remember happening. I was ready to embrace my final moments with no atonement. I made my decision. I had no regrets, being killed by my own brothers, finally happy. Waking up here wasn't my idea of an afterlife. I had no concept of an afterlife. My Heart is just Darkness. I have no place in Kingdom Hearts, a world of Light. Is that where I am? No... I'm somewhere else... I stopped floating in nothingness. I can feel my body again... The concrete is cold. Concrete? What? I can feel my eyes... they're shut. Can I open them?"

Open them I did. I could see a dark night sky... littered with plenty of stars. For the first time in my life I felt a concept of beauty. It looked like it went on forever. "This must be what wonder feels like..." I thought to myself.

I snapped to. I blinked and realized I was laying on a sidewalk! I tried jumping my body up using my legs as a center of momentum, but I lacked my usual strength to do so. All I did was embarassingly grunt and jolt my legs. Instead, I slowly lifted my upper body, and looked around. Buildings... a city of concrete and lights, but it was empty. No people around me. "Where am I now? Is this the Dark City? No... it's too bright..." I stood up completely, and felt the cool breeze on my face to contrast with the humidity... "Wait... I can feel. What is going on?" I lifted a hand up to my face, and realized my shaded visor was missing. My entire helmet was gone, and I couldn't phase it back in. I was still in my usual outfit, at least.

I felt a vibrating in my pocket, and pulled out what appeared to be a phone that was never mine. On the front screen was a message saying "Make it to 104 in 60 minutes or face erasure. -The Reapers" "Well, that's quite forward. I either make it there or somebody comes along and kills me. While I would like to see them try, I would also like to see what this new world has in store for me. What is this 104?" Another message popped on screen. "104 superstore, biggest in Shibuya." "Well... how convenient." A number appeared on my right hand, a clock counting down from 60:00. "I see... well an easy way of finding this '104' would be recon." I decided to call upon my Unversed. "COME!" I called forth negative emotions, fledgeling sadness and loneliness. Yet when I called for those feelings, they did not come as strong as I thought. Only a few Floods appeared where I thought many would arrive, but the handful I had were enough. "Go! Find me 104 and open the corridor!" No sooner did they take off, did I feel them die and return to me in the form of negative energy. It hurt... for the first time it physically hurt. A boy spoke from behind me. "Looks like you just paid your admission fee". I turned around to see a blonde-haired boy in street clothes. "You love them and hate them most, just as you love and hate yourself." "And just who made you an authority on my Unversed?" "Excuse me for not introducing myself... I am Joshua, the Conductor of The Reaper's Game. You must be Vanitas." He knew my name, he knew my Unversed. I materialized my Keyblade, the Void Gear. Whoever he was, he was a threat.

"I don't know any Joshua, I don't know any Game, and I certainly don't know how you destroyed my Unversed without a weapon. Whoever you really are, you're about to give me back what you took." I lunged forward, delivering a slash attack and hitting... nothing. Joshua was a couple feet forward from where I thought. I slashed again at his new location, but still nothing. This time his voice came from behind me. "Your new body is still a bit slow, so you should probably take it easy. I am here to explain a few things to you since you're new to this world." What he was saying made no sense. " 'New Body?' I didn't ask for a new body! I didn't ask for anything!" Joshua kept a nonchalant smile on his face, hands in his pockets. "But you're not complaining either. You're not above a second chance, you who 'chose' Darkness. Vanitas, you were brought here to earn your right to return to the world of the living. Now you had better get a move on to 104... those Dark Corridors of yours won't work here, and your Unversed are gone. Good luck!" I felt a deep anger, my usual kind. I charged a Dark Firaga, and blasted it at him. It was... taxing. I never felt such exhaustion after using a dark power before. Once the smoke settled, Joshua was gone. The blast had been much weaker than usual as well. "He said my Dark Corridors don't work, and that I should get to 104 as soon as possible... well with this power I can't be too rash on attacking or defending. I guess I'll humour his little 'Game'..." I took off running, sprinting as fast as my legs could take me.

With no access to Dark Augmentations yet, I was no faster than Ventus... but I tried following street signs the best I could. Just as I thought I was on the right street, something popped up in front of me. Strange monsters, they looked like giant frogs. They weren't heartless or nobodies, but I felt instead something akin to my Unversed. These things reeked of negativity. I drew my Keyblade, immediately knowing I was in for a fight. "Come on then... I know I'm weaker, but I have more than enough to deal with you." One leapt forward and I slashed it, swatting it away like an insect. As more leapt at me, I taxed my body to react as it used to. Attacking and defending accordingly, but it was tiring. I mustered my rage, my sorrow, my loneliness, and tried empowering my body with Darkness. One of the Frog Monsters struck me, and my Darkness carried me above it with a downward strike. My ability to Dark Counter was at least intact, provided I tax myself. I had only managed to destroy a small handful of the monsters that appeared. I was getting tired, and something felt wrong with my heart. I was no longer the same well of deep Darkness that I was used to. I collapsed to one knee, resting my body on my Keyblade. Another one of the monsters tried striking me, but was then destroyed before my eyes. "You're a lot slower than I remember, Vanitas." I knew that voice... I hated that voice. It was the voice of someone who beat me 5 times.

I watched her dash in front of me, striking down the creatures with her familiar powers, but something was different. She was using Dark Augmentation. She turned to face me, the rest of the monsters fleeing. "Aqua... What brings you here?" "I could ask you the same question, you monster." She looked different than before. She wore her usual attire, but it looked corrupted, as if she had swam in the Dark Waters. Her eyes were yellow as mine, hair white as Xehanort's. "You're different. You're on Darkness... yet I sense no Light within you." I stood up to face her. "That part of me remains in the Realm of Light, and I'm told here I can go back, and take back what's mine from my Original Self."

I smirked. So she had been separated as well... but it wasn't like me. "Your 'Original Self?' You are your Original Self, you are a piece of your Original Self. Tell me, what happened to make you like this? What is your name?" She stood, silent for a moment. "I don't know my name anymore. I know I was born in a place of loneliness and anger. Then, in my moment of escape, I was defeated and separated. Now I wake up here, in this 'Game', and naturally I meet scum like you." I had a strange feeling, seeing this version of Aqua. "Empty Creature from Aqua riven, to you, the name Artemisia, shall be given." Now, she had a name. Given to her just like I had been given mine. "Hmph. I can accept that. As for you, I suppose I should kill you now before we have to fight again in the future. I've beaten you enough times..." My body hadn't fully recovered from the fight, I was still tired. Her Keyblade resembled Pain of Solitude, and she pointed it at me. I backed up just enough steps... if I had the distance, I could make one more Dark Counter and at the very least incapacitate her. She fired a magical blast from the blade's tip, rembling her spellweaver abilities, but this orb had a dark energy condensing its power into something fiercer. I took one more step back, and got the distance I needed. The attack phased through me as my body reappeared above her, and I slashed downward. She must have expected it, she dodged. However, her body was still a little too slow to dodge the whole thing. I grazed her left arm.

"Urgh... forget this. I'm running out of time. Good luck with The Reapers! I hope you're late!" "Wait!" I shouted after her, but just as my hand was placed on her shoulder, her body vanished. Another dark power of teleportation, no doubt. Short range, I could tell, but she had more stamina left than I, catching her would be impossible. Then it hit me... The Game! I noticed on my hand was the timer, and it noted only 15 minutes! Had I been messing around with the monsters that long? I kept running, confident I was on the right street. I could see the big numbers 104 at the end! I was going to make it... then someone else got in my way... a boy no taller than me(possibly shorter) in a black coat. His back was turned to me, and I saw a horde of those frogs leap at him all at once. He reached a hand out, freezing them midair, and then vanished. Suddenly, I saw him appear from several dark spots slashing through all the monsters. Chaos Blade Attack... but only 3 people could use that Dark Power. The monsters all vanished, and the boy landed back where he stood, turning around. His face was obscured my the hood. "I'm done with the Organization. I have my own job to do, so tell Xehanort just where he can shove it..." I tried resuming my trip, walking past him, when again he appeared directly in front of my face. "I'm not here for the Organization either, Vanitas."

That voice... "No no, you can't be. You died just like I did. Is that you, Fake 2.0 in there? Ahahaha! So many familiar faces in one day!" He took his hood down, and there it was, that young face of Riku. The second model Replica, designed to work just like any other human. "I'm more than just a fake now. I have my own body, and my own heart. The piece that made me only Riku is gone, just like the piece that made you only Ventus's Shadow is gone. I'm no Replica, but you canc all me what you want. For now, I prefer the term Reaper." Gone? What did he mean? Was I no longer connected to Ventus? It only then occured to me that I couldn't feel him anymore. I couldn't feel the joy in his heart that I had so envied. I couldn't feel any part of him. "Reaper? So you're the one that sent me that message." I looked at my hand again, and the timer was gone. This was what he really wanted, to meet me face to face. "Yup. That phone will be how we stay in contact. Disobey me, and I come after you, and kill both you and your partner." Partner? "What partner? And what do you mean 'disobey' you? Am I taking order from a half-baked excuse of a Nobody now?" He smiled, shaking his head. "You're taking orders from me BECAUSE I'm your Reaper. It is one of the rules of The Reaper's Game. And your partner was the girl you met on the way here, even if she doesn't know it yet. I forged your pact for you when you two met, I thought it would be amusing to watch two Darknesses who hate each other work together. What name did you give her again? Oh yeah, Artemisia. You named her after yourself, how cute. Don't tell me the Big Bad Dark Boy is developing a soft spot for _her_?"

I hadn't even realized it at the time... Artemisia was a painter, and Vanitas was a type of painting... coincidence, I felt. I shook my head, and drew my keyblade. I felt some of my strength had returned. "I think you talk too much. Time to put the Fake out of his misery once and for all!" I felt the Dark Anger surge through me, but I was nowhere near my old strength. I felt it was enough to stop the Repliku. "Vanitas, you really don't want to do that. I'm your senior here, and I'm a lot stronger in my new body than you in yours. If you fight me and lose, then you lose The Game, and we only just started." "But if I kill you, I get the Darkness in your heart and win. Is that right?" He drew his Soul Eater and almost mirrored my battle pose. "You catch on quick. I was hoping we could play more, but have it your way." It was a fight.

I opened up with Dark Firaga, but the most I could manage was a single blast. He used Dark Shield to block it with his left hand, but the shield was cracked by the intensity. I smirked, and used a quick dash to close distance, slashing at the shield while he still held it. If I could break his Dark Barrier, then he'd lose defensive abilities for a short time. My Void Gear struck the Barrier, putting intense pressure on the cracks. "I may not have all my strength back, but I'm still more skilled than you!" He grunted, putting up his Soul Eater to the shield to try and reinforce it, but it was breaking too fast. It shattered, and my attack collided with his Soul Eater. I kept only my right hand on the Keyblade and used my left to confure Dark Blizzard. I couldn't do Blizzaga, too much strain and focus... but this would be enough. I fired it from my left hand, forcing him to back off from the clash. He leapt backward, and shot Dark Volley. I surged more anger through my body, enough for one Dark Counter. Once the volley phased me, I appeared above him. "You wish!" The look on his face twisted to anger. No time to dodge my attack. This was going to be a quick victory, one swipe down the middle, then I could finish him. He smiled then... and I slowed midair. He vanished, and I felt myself getting struck from multiple other angles, throwing me off my attack. He landed back in his orginal spot. He'd hit me with Chaos Blade. My balance was gone, and I felt to the ground hard on my left shoulder, keyblade falling at my side and barely out of reach. He walked toward me slowly, and I struggled to get up. Those strikes did a number on me, and I lacked the endurance to recover, and no magic left to cure myself. He kicked my right shoulder, and I rolled on my back. I was furious, but no Darkness came to me. I was spent. Was this the end of my Second Chance already?

"You are hopeless. You always did try to take on bigger fish than yourself, Vanitas. Xehanort always felt you were too rash for your own good... well now it's time to pay for it." His Soul Eater turned into the Incomplete Keyblade of Heart. "You...! Where did you get that?!" "Surprised? I was holding back to humour you, but now I'll be taking your heart, and winning my Game." He positioned it above me, and prepared to plunge the keyblade into my chest. "STOPGA!" Riku froze. I saw the clock ticking above his head. 1 minute. That was quite a bit of resistance to bring the time down so much... but who cast it? I heard footsteps walk to me, and I recognized the black corrupt-looking shoes. I looked up, and saw Aqua's-no... Artemisia's face, complete with the Golden Yellow Eyes we shared. She held out her hand. "Get up. He's our Reaper and that means we need to stay away from him until we're ready, which you're definitely not." She didn't smile at me. She had that same look of spite that Aqua always used to give me... yet for some reason the piercing-cold look hurt something in my heart this time. I took her hand and stood up. My keyblade had vanished. She hoisted my arm over her shoulder, and carried me. She teleported, several times. Halfway through it all I passed out.

I found myself floating in nothingness, until I opened my eyes. I was standing up, but we weren't in Shibuya. In fact, I was alone. I looked below me to see a platform of light erupt into dozens of doves... I never thought birds so majestic before. They revealed what I stood on... my own Station of Awakening... It was a glass platform just like Ven's Heart, but it was just me on it, no connections though. I saw one of the circles glowing white still, and walked toward it. When I got to it, it burned brightly and then more doves came from it. In that little circle, in My Heart, was a picture of Artemisia... I felt a voice echo in my head. "This is your heart now. Take good care of it. It is still weak and a great Darkness still dwells inside you, an incredible power. But what you see right now if your Light. Nurture it inside your Darkness, but don't bring them too close, or your Light will be swallowed up forever." I whited out this time, too much light...

I woke up on a building rooftop, and sat up, startled. "What?! Oh... What a strange dream..." I began to lay back, seeing the night sky again. Once my head hit the ground, I was startled by Artemisia's face looking down at me and sat right back up. "Give me a break!" She didn't have a cold frown, but it wasn't a smile either. "We can't afford to sleep forever, Vanitas. We have work to do. A mission." Suddenly, that whole moment had felt oddly familiar, as if I'd experienced it before...

Mission? "What Mission? Under whose authority?" She uttered a noise of disgust. "Our Reaper, you know, the one you pissed off. Look." She showed me her own phone, and it read a message. "Good job getting away. I didn't take two beings of Pure Darkness as cowards. I will let you live for now, if you just play the game my way. On your persons, you will find pins that resonate with your hearts, and your negativity will attrack The Noise. Your job is to hunt down your _own personal_ Noise. Let's start with Vanitas's Grunge Wolf, sighted at the following location..." It then listed a small range of coordinates. Artemisia put the phone away when she was sure I had finished reading it. "We had better get going. This is our first mission and it's already the second day. If we don't play by the rules, we lose, and losers get erased." She dove off the building, and I followed right after her. We cushioned our falls with minor Dark Pockets attributed to our feet. "Wait, I still have questions!" I sprinted ahead and blocked her path. "Ugh... what is it now?" "First off... who put you in charge of our little get together? Second, since when are we friends?"

"Our pact was forged the moment you and I met up. Ordinarily, a Reaper can't choose who groups up with who, but it doesn't matter anymore. If one of us dies, we lose, so I have to protect you like I'm your mother. I saved you, so I make the rules and you stay out of the way. Got it?" That didn't sit well with me. None of this did. "Oh, so I stay out of the way of the 'Big Bad Monsters' while Mommy does all the work? And what if I'm not cool with that?" I wasn't about to take orders anymore. "Vanitas, we can't fight each other. If one of us loses, we both lose. We both have something to lose now." I thought about it, and she was right. We had to agree on a system for this temporary alliance to work. She spoke, her fierce eyes softening to a compromise... "How about this... I take the lead ony missions regarding my Noise, and you take lead on missions regarding yours?" I nodded. It sounded fair. I wanted to be alone, but I no longer had a choice. I don't know what, but something urged me against fighting her anyways...

"So... those coordinates... " I honestly didn't know the layout of this place like her, even though this mission was now mine. "Heh, I'll show you where. You're still in charge, but I can navigate Shibuya." "Then lead the way, Artemisia." We resumed our search then. I didn't know what a Grunge Wolf looked like, all I had seen are the frogs. Anything coming from my negativity was bound to be powerful. "According to our Reaper, the Grunge Wolf was last seen somewhere up ahead. Vanitas, do you have any cure magic?" I hadn't yet reclaimed all my magic, and Dark Cure is more potent that middle class spells like Cura. "I don't. Dark Cure can heal most injuries, and most ailments, but I don't have the powers yet to use it. I need to fight more, and build up more Darkness." She looked back at me after I said that. Something in her eyes showed doubt... "...Right. I'll be in charge of healing magic. I don't know Dark Cure, but I still have access to most spells from my original self, including Cura." That look in her eyes worried me. It was as if she doubted what I said about building my Darkness back up.

We heard loud growing and fighting going on around the next corner. "Come on, let's hurry. Someone else may already have our mission underway! If they win, we failed the mission and risk erasure!" Well that didn't sound good. We made it to the end of the street and turned the corner... just in time to see the Grunge Wolf. It oozed a Dark Aura, and moved with augmented speed. It was fighting another couple of teenagers, one of them barely able to fight. The Noise itself didn't look wounded. "Ohhh... I'm sorry." I teased. "Are we intruding upon your mission? Well don't worry, it will all be over soon." I drew my keyblade and assumed a fighting stance. The Grunge Wolf turned its head, and shifted attention towards Artemisia and myself. She drew hers as well, and the fight began.

The Grunge wolf attacked before we could. The Dark Augmentation to its speed was more than expected. It dashed past me towards Artmesia, but she cast some sort of spell, illuminating her with a dark outline. Suddenly, there were a handful of her, all walking in different directions! The Grunge Wolf had of course missed its attack. It looked around at all of her 'clones', and dashed at one of them by random. The image vanished, and suddenly so did the others. She warped out from nowhere, using one of her barrier blasts. A direct hit to the side of the Grunge Wolf, knocking it over. The creature regained composure, standing back up and lunging back. Now I had to fight. I pushed more at my heart to use Darkness, and it felt more responsive this time. I was able to use a short range Dark Warp behind the Grunge Wolf, and unleash a small combo on its back. It was much taller than expected up close, but all my hits were solid. "GRRRRWWWLLLLL..!" It angrily turned around and lashed back at me, knocking me back. I did a single flip, and landed on my feet. My reflexes were at least returning. It seems the anger of the creature was making it stronger. Its speed increased, and as quickly as I could blink, I was staring it in the face, fangs opening and ready to take a bite out of my face.

Dark Purplish Crystals rained on the monster from Artemisia. Another Dark Power, but a new one. It stopped the attack long enough for me to backflip away and shoot Dark Firaga at the Noise. The blast connected with its face, exploding. The smoke cleared quickly. The Grunge Wolf showed sufficient wounds, but it wouldn't be slowed down. Again, it mosved faster, this time attacking Artemisia. It made a swipe with its claws, and slashed her face. Her body was launched backwards, but she landed on one of her knees. The clawmark on her face had blood, but it had a dark smoke coming from it. The Wolf lunged forward at her again. I had to be quick enough this time. She had no time to recover. I sped up as quickly as I could, but the Wolf was faster. I shut my eyes hard out of desperation. I just wanted to be there so badly... I wanted to stop it. I want to protect...

I appeared in front of Artemisia, my back facing the wolf and took its full slash to my back. I felt the tremendous pain. She looked up at me, eyes asking why and how I had just done that. "Eheh... an eye for an eye. Consider us even now." Now I let myself be angrier, using the pain as a catalyst. I turned my body around swinging with the Void Gear, slashing it across the face. Ice followed, partially freezing its body. Dark Blizzard Edge. "NOW, ARTEMISIA! DON'T JUST SIT THERE! LET'S FINISH THIS THING!" I leapt into the air and gave her a clear shot. She used Triple Firaga, melting the ice but dealing incredible damage. Before the monster could use its Darkness to recover and counter, I was still above it and use a downward slash, right down the center of its body. Artemisia warped to the opposite end and used a Spellweaver Blast, distroying the rest of the body. There was now only black smoke and a fading dark aura where it once stood. I put my hand on the ground, and felt the residual energy of Darkness. I absorbed what I could before it was gone.

I stood up, a smile on my face and looking right at Artemisia. She used her Pain of Solitude to cast Cura, and sped up healing our injuries. "I guess you have more power left than I thought. I didn't think you could warp so quickly so soon, Vanitas." I looked down at my left hand, closing and opening it. "Yeah... I didn't either." We heard a slow clapping, and saw Repliku walk out from an alleyway. "Good good! You beat your first mission. I was thinking one of you would die there. This means we get to keep playing!" I scowled at him, using a dash attack to try and hit him on sight. He was able to warp backwards out of range. "ohhhh, careful now! You don't want to start another fight you can't win, even if you are a bit stronger than last time. Seems you two are getting along just fine." Artemisia spoke to him, keeping her keyblade drawn but not yet attacking. "That wasn't a normal Grunge Wolf. It was using Darkness." The Repliku laughed. "They're ALL using Darkness! They're negativity, just like Vanitas's Unversed! I just tempered that one a bit to test you two. In fact, you'll find I like to go around enhancing Noise I find by condensing their Darkness. Next mission will be even tougher, so I hope you two will be ready. Next time you may not get the same miracle as this one." He used a Dark Corridor, something Joshua told me was impossible, to escape. "Vanitas, what did he mean by 'miracle'?" I felt something flicker in my heart...

We received no messages the rest of the night. Artemisia had explained to me the rest of the rules of this game, and it was concering that we only had a few days to get _something_ done. There were timers on our hands after that last fight, counting down the hours of the rest of the week. Day 2 was over, and we only had roughly 72 hours left. Still, we had each other's company, even if we didn't always talk. "So, if it has never been explained to you, and you didn't win, how would you know how to win the game? Furthermore, how would you know you even _could_ win? If all we have are that Boy's words to go on, I say we follow our own rules." I didn't like playing by someone else's rules, and even more hated sitting around doing nothing. Alongside Master Xehanort, we were always up to something. He gave me freedom to take my own initiative. Artemisia was not fond of my idea. "If we go rogue, and we lose, we get erased: dead forever. I'm not going to take that risk, nor will I let you take that risk and doom us both. I don't believe you're strong enough to fight that 'Riku'. The Keyblade he's using is called a Keyblade of Heart, and it has the power to unlock the true nature of people's Hearts and is a great catalyst for Dark Powers. In fact, if I could get my own hands on it, I'd have won this game already." "Artemisia, every catalyst for Dark Power is also a catalyst for Light. We are Darkness, both of us. While his Darkness is not as potent as ours, he has Light in his heart too. We can take advantage of that, and have the Dark consume his Light." "-Or, he could use that Light and wipe us off the concrete like smudges. Think both ways." She had a point there... A Light amplified to that degree would have the advantage. "Then we'll just have to get more Darkness." "And we do that by following the rules. The next mission is probably going to be mine, so _you_ follow _my _orders." That was the deal.

The sun began to rise on the city of Shibuya. I'd never taken the time to see a Sunrise before... It was beautiful. The shadows in the streets curled away. All my thoughts seemed to evaporate as I looked around the shining light. "Hey, Vanitas! I said we got a text!" I snapped to, and realized Artemisia had been speaking to me, and she was getting testy. I'd never noticed how she looked, and the morning sun seemed to make her look elegant, even in her dark clothing. I took the time to note what it was exactly that she wore, and it was easy to tell so much had been corrupted from her original form. Yet still, I saw her white hair shine ever so slightly in the sun... "VANITAS!" I had drifted off again. It wasn't like me to lose focus. What was happening to me? "Right, a mission. Where at?" She showed me the text message on the phone. It gave the coordinates and a message: "2-Step Boomer, unusually strong, formed from Artemisia's Loneliness. Located here. Defeat it within the alotted time or face Erasure. Oh, and No cure spells." Wonderful. "What the hell is a 2-Step Boomer?" "Another Noise. Kangaroo-Like. And we have 30 minutes to find and destroy it or we get erased. On the bright side, they're decently loud and easy to find. Come." And like that she was off. I chased after her. I was faster than yesterday. My body had fully recovered, and I could augment my speed in short bursts. She could hold Dark Augmentation longer still, but it was only a matter of time before I got stronger.

I heard loud thumping accompanied by music in the street next to ours as we tracked the coordinates, but according to Artemisia the Noise was in the other direction... "Artemisia, wait. I can hear something on the other street! We need to go back and make a different turn, we'll get there faster." "I know this city better than you. This is _my _mission and I know what we're looking for. You are to follow me, we'll destroy it faster with two of us." I know what I heard... "No." I stopped, and she stopped after realizing I resisted.

"We had a deal, Vanitas. I can't have you turning on me if I'm going to win."

"That's the problem. This deal has been about territory and leadership, not cooperation and input."

"Since when have we ever cooperated? This is _**my Noise**_ and you will follow me as I say!"

"No. We are a team now, and you're going to act like it. You've been condescending this entire time, but if we are to fight together we have to work together, as equals."

"And you think we are equals? I have defeated you numerous times, and I'll do it again." She drew her Keyblade.

"This is precious time, Artemisia. And for the record, you haven't defeated me. Aqua did. You are the loneliness, the resentment, the fear, the anger, you are her Darkness and I am Ven's!" I drew my Void Gear and struck a fighting stance. I could see the darkness building around her, and it built around me as well.

I hadn't spoken about Ventus since I got here, nor had I ever referred to him as Ven. Whatever was inside my heart flickered again. It was pain, emotional pain. As it empowered my Darkness, it also hurt me. Something in my heart greived over my words. Everything I had said was true, so why did it make me sad? My Dark Power flared up at the thought, the realizations of my inner anguish. It matched hers in magnitude now, and I felt our energies colliding without our blades even making contact. I could feel her heart...

It was cold, so cold. There was nothing but the deepest Darkness, and memories of friends, the fear that they had left her for dead, the patience of waiting for so many years. The endless nights crying, the abyss just sinking deeper and deeper as despair takes over, and all that fear and sadness turns into anger and hate.

She put her keyblade down, snapping me back to reality. Less than a few seconds had passed in that entire time I felt her heart, but it felt like an eternity, like every moment she spent in the Realm of Darkness I had experienced. I felt something wet fall down my cheek, and lifted my left hand to wipe it away. Those were tears... I hadn't cried since the day I was born from Ventus. I lowered my weapon as well. The look on her face, the look of awe and empathy, she saw what I had involuntarily done. I read her heart. Both of our Darknesses lowered, like dying flames of war. This was the first time we ever had an understanding of each other. She walked forward, and so did I. The tears flowed down her cheeks as more dropped from mine, and for the first time in my life, I got to feel a hug. Her body was warm, like Ventus's heart had been. Slumbering in Ventus's heart had been like a cozy blanket, surrounded by light. Artemisia's arms felt the same, and I returned the hug as best I could. She spoke. "I waited there for over 10 years, and I was sure nobody was ever going to come for me, that everyone had forgotten. I didn't bother to realize that the same thing had happened to you... While Ventus slept, so did you. But, nobody missed you. Nobody went looking for you."

"Artemisia... you are the identity Aqua clung to in order to survive. She had given up hope, and would have died without the Darkness to stick to her heart." We stepped back, and both looked down the street behind me. The Noise we had been looking for was there, absorbing everything we let out. It probably had an imposing figure at one point, coated in the anger and hate of Artemisia's Darkness, but now it was small, and barely reeked of Dark Powers.

"I'll put it out. It is too weak to fight us now." She walked past me, and mercifully destroyed it with one swipe of her Keyblade. After the black mist settled, it wrapped around her weapon, and glowed with light, changing it. Pain of Solitude, was now Aqua's original Keyblade that had been once lost to Darkness: Stormfall. Our mission was done, and we both withdrew our Keyblades. There was plenty of time left in the day for more missions, but it was unlikely to happen. I was certain Repliku saw the whole thing, and knew, right now, we were strong enough to destroy anything he threw at us.

We spent the rest of the day together, exploring Shibuya. We even managed to get some food, unbeknownst to the actual inhabitants of the city. No Noise bothered us, we laughed, we talked, we shared thoughts. "I only ever wanted to be whole. I hate and love my Unversed, they ARE a part of me. Unfortunately, they are everything I wish I wasn't. Ventus has friends, Ventus has family. He's always smiling. Tell me, Artemisia, why did he always smile?" She thought about this. She retained memories from Aqua, but not all of them. "I can only recall so much from the good days, but from what I could understand, he had something with us that he lacked before. I never found out where he came from, but it must not have been as warm as the reception Terra, the Master, and myself gave him. I think you had something to do with it, too." Me? "Why? I would've destroyed him back then, given the chance." She turned and smiled at me... that warm smile that only Aqua... Artemisia, could have. I felt a flicker in my heart every time she did that. "You shouldered the burden of his Darkness. You were his anger, his sadness, his emptiness. Because of you, he could make a new life with his friends. Now, here I am, in the same boat as you, shouldering the burden so Aqua can live out the rest of her life..." I smiled. A funny feeling, smiling. My face always felt like it relaxed when I did that. This smile was different though. "Shouldering the burden can't be so bad with someone to share it with, you know." She blushed, I felt my face turn red hot. I said something sappy, something that made me feel embarrassed. Where did that even come from? "To Shouldering the Burden with a friend" she said. I agreed. "To Shouldering the Burden of Darkness." We tipped out soda cans and drank. We slept. Once we awoke, we knew there would only be two days left to complete The Game, but all worries had been put aside.

When we woke up, it was early morning, the phone was going off like crazy. We found ourselves huddled together at some point during the rest, and quickly separated, both faces red. Artemisia's phone was receiving an actual call. She tapped the button. "Both of you, City Hall, NOW! 5 minutes and you're erased!" He hung up. Repliku sounded pissed. Whatever it was, even our Reaper couldn't handle it. Something about me was stronger as we got to moving. I was my old self entirely. I had all my dark powers, and so did she. We left our Usual Spot, and used quick warps whenever possible. Several Noise got in the way, and they looked fierce. We dispatched them whenever we couldn't avoid them. I could Dark Firaga at will, and she could mix Dark Blizzaga with it to create whirlwinds of destruction. The sky over the city was dark, and it began to rain. 2 minutes left but we were just about there, when Repliku found us. "Weren't you supposed to meet US at the City Hall?" Artemisia snarled at him. He looked dissheveled, beaten up, Keyblade of Heart in hand. "Change of plans. I was going to use this Noise against the two of you, but something worse came out and destroyed it. Go, clean it up and I'll consider giving you both a free pass!" He used a Dark Corridor and vanished before we could say anything else. What could be so bad that it destroyed a powerful Noise? We got our answer.

I am a creator of Unversed, typically more replenishable if smaller in number than Heartless, yet inferior to Nobodies who are smaller in number. This was a Heartless, and it at first I thought it was merely an Invisible. The moment we spotted it, it spotted us and attacked. It dashed through the air at an incredible speed and slashed at me with one of the two blades it held. I barely blocked it in time, but it still sent me reeling back, throwing me entirely off balance. Artemisia, was quickly put on the defense as it went for her next. She cast Barrier to guard against the slashes it sent her way. She was knocked around like a pinball before Dark Phasing next to me just as her barrier broke. We got a good look at this Heartless now... It held two curved blades, had a pink scarf around its neck, tiny wings on its shoulders, and a hole in the chest. The only thing that gave away that it wasn't a Pureblood was the sheer uniqueness of it. This power came from a Heart that a Darkside consumed, no doubt.

"What? This thing is no Noise. This Darkness is so steep..."

"Artemisia, focus. This is a Heartless, and unlike any I've seen. No matter how deep its Darkness, we are deeper still. Let's give it all we have!"

She nodded. We both channeled the Darkness we held in our bodies, the aura ensnaring us and augmenting us. The Heartless dashed around and to our flank, fast as ever. It went for Artemisia again, and she quickly vanished before the attack landed. Suddenly, there were 9 of her, wandering around it. It quickly educed how to attack, and charged an attack, unleashing a massive 360 degree wide attack in order to hit all of them. None of them were the real image. Just as quickly as it struck all the phantoms, the real Artemisia emerged from Darkness, spinning her keyblade with magic augmentation alongside two other images. All 3 attacks hit, and sent the Heartless into the air. Now it was my turn. My body glowed with a red outline, Dark powers getting more dense, and I warped. Above the Heartless, I did a downward slash, followed by a Chaos Blade attack, attacking it and warping to attack from a different direction. I landed 6 hits before ending it with a supercharged Dark Firaga. Artemisia used Icy Whirlwind as a followup, three images of her spinning around it with powerful Blizzard Magic. I saw every bit of damage inflicted, and readied the finisher. This was going to exhaust our supply, but it would be worth it. I held the Void Gear with both hands, and once her Whirlwind was done, I ran forward, jumped and delivered another overhead strike, this time causing multiple dark eruptions underneath the Heartless as both it and my blade hit the ground.

Artemisia and I both backed off, confident in the damage we did. Our auras grew dim, and we returned to normal, exhausted. "I think... that did it." She said, smiling. I wasn't so sure. There was no heart erupting from the smoke. In the blink of an eye, the Heartless was in front of me, a beet red aura around it. Still wounded, but now more powerful than ever, it struck me with a cross of both its weapons. I was sent flying into a wall. "Vanitas!" Artemisia quickly responded, readying firestorm. The Heartless created several Dark Orbs made of fire around its body, and had them lock onto Artemisia. She lunged forward, confident the Firestorm would protect her. Getting into Melee Range would surely stop the constant aggression with a spell like this, I thought. She had the right idea. The Heartless had a way around this. It flew into the air, creating more Dark Orbs and then attacking from above. The Firestorm could only block so many, and the moment the spell showed signs of weakning, the Heartless tanked the dying flames and struck Artemisia. This was a losing battle. Artemisia, was in a small crater caused by the aerial attack, and the Heartless was charging up a finisher. It intended to take her heart... I should have been more concerned with the power that would give it, a Heart made almost entitrely of Darkness would have almost tripled the energy it had. Yet... I thought about what I'd miss. I'd miss days like yesterday. I'd miss the chatting, I'd miss the food, I'd miss the relaxation, I'd miss... her. She had to live. I felt my heart. This time, it more than flickered, it burst. I felt Light engulf me, the kind I'd never seen before. The kind from... Ventus. I teleported again, this time, in a blinding flash of Light. "Photon Charge!" I struck the Heartless, and I struck it again from a different angle, and again and again. I found myself levitating after the rush, light still surrounding me. I warped above it, and thrust the Void Gear into its gut, smashing its body back on the ground with pillars of light erupting. I prepared an execution stance, and the Void Gear charged with Light once more. A beam shot down from the tip of the blade into the hole in the Heartless' chest. I saw a cloud of Darkness emerge from the body, and as it lifted into the air, became clear. It was a Heart, and I heard the words "thank you...". The Heartless began fading away, and eventually dissipated.

I turned around and ran toward Artemisia, who now stood once where she lay, amazed. "Vanitas... you..." I took a good look at myself, and realized my outfit had changed... I wore Ventus's armor... It faded shortly after, as did the aura of light. I was back in my usual Red and Black. I put Artemisia's arm over my shoulder, and helped her to walk. I was terribly wounded still as well, but she took most of the hits and exhausted more of her Darkness. "You... used Light."

"I think... Ven helped me do it."

We hobbled back to the Usual Spot to recover. The rain was coming down harder, but the Noise were gone. Repliku appeared before us, clapping his hands. "Good job. I didn't think Captain Darkness had any good will left in his heart at all. I guess your better half must have been looking out for you!" Artemisia scowled at him. "He did what you couldn't, and found something precious to him: His other half!" I thought about that... and I don't think it was Ventus I was protecting... I thought Ventus was protecting me, so I could protect something else.

"Ohhhh excuse me. So where's your _other half_ hmm? Oh, right, it tossed you away. Your purpose is done. I may be a replica, but I'm no liar. Tomorrow is the Big Quiz kids! I hope you're ready, because no precious Light will save you then." He used a Dark Corridor and vanished.

"Artemisia. Tomorrow we take his heart. Plenty of Darkness for the both of us. I don't care if we fail."

"Heh, yeah... After all, what's another week?"

"More Ice Cream."

We both laughed, and then I felt my ribs ache from one of the attacks. "Seems like you got hit harder than you thought. Here, let me take you this time." Artemisia stood on her own, and took my arm over her shoulder instead. She seemed to still be smiling, even after all we'd been through. I couldn't figure out how she ever did it. I think in that Heart of Darkness, she was changing like I was. I knew I was changing, but into what? I used Ven's armor to protect her...

"One day, I will set this right"

"Ven, you hopeless Sleepyhead"

I heard Terra and Aqua's voices in my head, like memories from Ventus. I felt the emotions they brought Ventus now. The Darkness everpresent in me, felt so far away now. Being with Artemisia was making me feel soft, but it also made me stronger. "The strength to protect what matters" I said aloud. "Huh?" I hadn't realized I said that until she brought it up. "Oh, nothing... just something someone said to me once." She giggled. "I think you're a bit out of it. Come on, let's find a place to rest, I'll Cure you." We took a seat near an ice cream shop. "Wait here, Vanitas." She went ahead, and came back with two. More memories from another place, this time farther away than Ventus, or even Sora. I imagined sitting at a Clock Tower, with two friends. I recognized them from the Keyblade Graveyard. Axel and Xion. I remember laughing, I remember joking, I remember happiness. "Vanitas...? Are you okay?" I felt tears go down my cheeks again. I quickly wiped them away, embarrassed. "Yeah, something in my eyes, I guess." We sat and ate, quietly this time.

Mid afternoon, we had both recovered from the morning. Juding from how disgruntled Repliku was last time we saw him, we knew tomorrow was going to be the hardest. We had to stop our own Reaper, but at full power and with the power of Light, I wasn't worried. Still, Artemisia insisted we practice dueling.

"Are you sure about this, Artemisia? I'm full strength now."

"Never seemed to stop Aqua from beating you, and I'm everything she was, and more." She taunted me, still in good fun.

"She got lucky. I let her have those. Shut up!"

We both laughed again, and began dueling. Simple rules: no dark infusions, no light powers(not like I could just call upon them so easily), just simple melee swordfighting. No magic. We needed to improve our base skills if we were to outdo the Keyblade of Heart. I was a sadist at heart, usually. I enjoyed my opponent losing more than anything, but this felt like fighting an equal, and having fun with it. We took turns getting the edge on each other. I saw into her mind. It was like Aqua's battle with Terra during the Mark of Mastery Exam, to her. It wasn't a competition, it was all in good will. It was to make something of herself.

During the fight, I saw inside my own Heart again. I saw the image of myself on the glass. I saw her face, and then I saw Ven's. I saw Sora's, I saw Roxas, I saw Terra, I saw Riku. A bright light shone from it all... and the voice again echoed. "You have learned what it is to nurture Light. You have found something important to you, but you lack sense of self. If you do not acknowledge yourself, you will lose all that has become precious to you". Before I could ask it anything, I was present once more. I was still dueling Artemisia, and hours had passed. I stopped. "No more, no more. I think I'm good." She stopped, and withdrew Stormfall. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I think we've done enough for today. It's time we get some dinner and rest." She nodded. We did exactly that: We found a place to eat, and enjoyed ourselves. I made sure to eat something filling, ensuring I'd have more stamina for the next fight. We went to our Usual Spot, and slept. That was the last night of The Game, but I had made a real friend. Maybe even something more. She made my heart feel warm, not cold or alone. She made me stronger. Before we rested, I said these things: "We'll be the Light, and the Darkness."

I had dreams. It was dreams of Artemisia and I spending more time together, having a life outside of constant battle and conflict. It was the two of us living together. My Unversed were like pets to the two of us. Any negativity I had would be nurtured away. It would be perfect. I wanted that life. I wanted to be free of who I was, and be like Ventus instead. Then I saw Ventus in my dreams, and he smiled at me, that carefree smile of his. "You have a friend too now, Vanitas. You understand that it is always about your friends. I think if you understood that when we fought, we could have been friends, too." I responded. "I wish that now." The voice in my heart spoke. "Do not renounce your sense of self..." I woke up.

Artemisia was already awake, but she was sitting across from me, watching me and smiling. "Heh, when do you wake up?" I asked.

"Always before you. Otherwise, how would I protect such a hopeless sleepyhead?"

We prepared ourselves, ate something small, empowered our Keyblades. I took some time to meditate on the coming battle. I needed to be able to tap into that Light Power again if we were to defeat Repliku. If we used only Darkness, we'd lose. I imagined those bonds; bonds from Ventus, from Sora, from Roxas, and the desire to protect what's important. I felt invigorated, but nothing special emerging. At around noon, it was time to go. Artemisia spoke. "I'm going to call him out, and then we're going to face him. We'll need that Light inside you, the one you got from Ven." "Yeah, let's hope he doesn't slack off on me today." She seemed confident after I expressed my worry. "I know Ven. Believe in him, and he'll keep his promise. You just need to keep yours, too." I didn't know what promise to keep, but nodded anyways.

We reached the City Hall, where we last fought the Heartless. The environment damage was gone, presumably to keep order in the living world. Artemisia called out. "HEY! REPLICA! COME OUT AND FACE US! TRY YOUR BEST TO ERASE OUR HEARTS!" Silence for a while. We stood there, wondering if he was even here anymore. Suddenly, a Dark Corridor opened, and there he was, in his Dark Form instead of the Black Coat. In his hand was Soul Eater. "You will never beat us, holding back." I smiled. We both summoned our keyblades, Stormfall and Void Gear, and took a stance.

He seemed irritated. "Why challenge me now when I wield Darkness and Light? Why risk erasure? I could have just left both of you alone." Artemisia spoke this time. "Because we're sick of your nonsense. We have a reason to live, to move on, and you stand in our way." Then I spoke. "We have something to go back to, we realize that now. We are not just Darkness, and we are not cheap imitations. We will feed on your Darkness, and you can go back to being nothing!"

"Hmph. 'A cheap imitation' they call me. You think you both have any purpose beyond pawns of Darkness? I have a chance to be real, AND I AM THE ONE TO FEED ON YOUR DARKNESS! MY HEART WILL BECOME MY OWN!" He took a fighting stance. The battle for our freedom began.

Repliku opened with Helm Split, leaping into the air. Artemisia and I both dodged the attack, knowing too well he intended to hit both of us with the Dark Shockwaves. He continued pressing his attack with both of us, often switching targets. He did the final leap, and both Artemisia and myself vanished, avoiding the large blast radius. We both charged our Dark Power, Aura of Purple around her and Red around myself. Repliku used Chaos Blade then to try and follow up before we could attack. I stopped the first charge of his attack, and followed up with a Dark Ice Counter, knocking him back. Artemisia warped behind him with a magic dash. I followed up her attack with Dark Firaga, which landed a perfect hit. Repliku backed off, a bit miffed by being overwhelmed. I spoke. "You can't beat us without taking it seriously. We're beyond you now, both of us. Our Darkness is stronger. Use the Keyblade!"

He scoffed. "I don't think trash like the two of you are worth it, but I'll show you what you're messing with since you asked so NICELY!" He burst with dark powers, Soul Eater transforming into Key of Hearts. This one was complete, keychain and all. Artemisia and I were still charged, having barely spent any power, but now we knew what kind of fight lay ahead. Repliku used Dark Thundaga with his Keyblade, and Artemisia protected both of us with a barrier. Taking the chance after his attack, I sent Dark Firaga at him, and then I teleported to get the jump. Repliku blocked the Dark Firaga, but I was then at his flank. I used an upward slash, which he dodged. I took the chance to follow up by diving into the ground. I traveled as a Dark Puddle, and rose from underneath him, unleashing a fury of fire with the attack. It seemed to connect, but something was wrong. Artemisia, seeing an opening, used Icy Whirlwind, three images spinning around Repliku dealing constant damage. She finished the attack by blowing up all false images, maximizing the impact of her power. She then cast firestorm, which Repliku was too close to avoid. He was constantly stuck in blazing inferno, Artemisia's spinning keyblade occasionally slashing at him while she manipulated it. Firestorm ended, and she prepared one more attack: Ghost Drive. Multiple Images of her constantly appeared around him in a circle, dealing combos of 2-3 before freezing and another image being created. She ended the attack with a downward swing, and backed off to recharge. Repliku had been burned, frozen, burned again, slashed, and blown up. Something didn't sit right.

"Artemisia..."

"Yeah, I felt it too. All of our attacks landed, so why didn't it feel like we got anywhere?"

Repliku stood up slowly, laughing. "Because you didn't." He raised a hand and dispelled. A barrier of light had surrounded every inch of his body! Not a single dark attack got through. "Now I guess I get to attack, right?" He pointed the Keyblade in our direction, and slashed upward. The cement beneath our feet was crushed by rising pillars of earth. We were temporarily separated from a defensive stance. He took the time to attack me first. Immediately warping on the pillar he had me on, he slashed at me. I rolled backward to dodge, but his attack wasn't simply melee. A spiral of dark energy came from the attack. I used Ice Counter again, utilizing reflexes, but he simply guarded my attack from above, catching the Void Gear with his bare hand. Using the Keyblade then, he slashed me off the pillar of rock, and I landed hard on my back. Artemisia came attacking him, trying to regroup and support my defense. She jumped from her pillar with a downward slash, thundagas raining around her and pointing at Repliku. He shifted his power focus to Light, and puffed out his chest, repelling all the thundaga spells. By the time her attack reached him, Refleza activated. He didn't just block Thundaga, he absorbed it. Before her Keyblade could connect, her own power was blasted right back at her and then some. I threw my keyblade in the air and hopped on it, using it to fly toward him faster. I jumped off, and grabbed it. I shot Triple Dark Firaga, and warped again. Once again, he absorbed the spells. This time, I was ready, knowing he would Refleza just as I got in range. He did. I did a slash counter, my false image disappearing. I levitated behind him, slashing 5 times. He managed to block all 5 attacks perfectly with his Keyblade. His left hand grabbed me by the throat. I had to drop my keyblade, using both hands to try and pry him off. His physical strength had increased.

Artemisia, recovering from Refleza, saw my struggle. "Vanitas!" She used her illusions. 4 solid images appeared around Repliku and each one used Blizzard Raid, throwing their keyblade copies. Repliku smirked and used me as a human shield for all of them, blocking all phantom keyblades with my back, and throwing me at the real one who was fast approaching from behind. We both tumbled and managed to roll onto our feet. "Sorry..." I hurt pretty bad, but at least I could breath. I summoned Void Gear again. "It's fine" I assured her. "It got him off me." We both cast curaga on each other, but we couldn't heal all the damages. Repliku wasn't even in fighting stance.

"We're throwing everything we have and he hasn't even broken a sweat... If you have that Light power, we could use it right about now." She sounded worried. I searched my heart for Light, but all I found was anger and frustration, feeding the Darkness. "Nothing yet, sorry." Repliku warped right in front of us. "I hope you're not changing your minds already! You have to see this through!" He grabbed my face, slamming me directly into the ground. Artemisia, being right beside me, slashed at his back to get him off. Each swing of the Stormfall deflected off of him, like he was made of stone. His Keyblade turned into a black aura around his hand and he caught her keyblade, crushing it with his hand instantly. Transforming it back into a weapon, he slashed at her without even looking, sending her flying through two shops.

I remembered Ven's face when I almost killed Aqua at the Graveyard, and again in the Land of Departure. I remember his anger. I cloaked myself in Ven's armor again, grabbed his left hand with my own, and pried it off my face. Now I stood, lifting him by his hand. My Void Gear turned into Ven's Lost Memory keyblade, and I thrust at Repliku's heart. He managed to divert the attack, but got sent flying backward anyways. I backhanded the keyblade, just as Ventus would. I donned the Helmet of the Armor, and rushed him with Photon Charge, just like I had the Heartless. He took several hits, and each one I made sure landed perfectly. This time I penetrated his Light Armor with my own. He shifted his power to Darkness, and matched my final attack with a clash of his Keyblade of Heart. I was still winning the power struggle. "You... won't... beat me! I will be real!" His Darkness grew, the aura around his almost consuming his body. It overpowered my Light, and shattered the Lost Memory. He solidly punched the Armor I wore, and it broke. I fell to the ground, now without a keyblade.

Repliku was exhausted, but his Darkness calmed. He had won the fight. Artemisia still stood, lumbering toward him with half a keyblade. "As long as I draw breath, you will not, Replica." She took a fighting stance, but fooled nobody. She was out of power. No Darkness could help her. Repliku walked toward her, calmly. "Then breath no more." I blinked, she blinked, and in a flash he had thrust his keyblade through her heart. What remained of Stormfall vanished. Before she fell, he grabbed her by the neck, and threw her at me. "Say your goodbyes, you're next, Vanitas." I caught her, mustering any strength I could to move. "No, no! Artemisia, say something!"

"Vanitas... When I met you, as Aqua, I was scared of you. You knew my friends. I fought you, I beat you, I hated you. You were always one small step behind me, until the end."

"Don't! You need to save your strength! I can give you the Dark in my heart!"

"It won't do any good... he shattered my heart. Now I feel it all slipping away. When Aqua and myself split, she took all the Light, but left me with a sliver, as if she knew... You helped me grow that. You made me feel welcomed, wanted, like you'd have looked for me if you could have."

"Artemisia..."

"Vanitas. This week with you has been so wonderful... I want you to know, I developed feelings for you. I began to... I began to lo-..."

Her eyes shut. I shut my eyes, tears running down my face. I heard her voice in my heart. "I began to love you. I hoped... you could love a wretched creature of Darkness, like myself."

Her body faded into Darkness.

"How pitiful. The one person capable of loving someone as horrible as you, Vanitas. Oh well, you'll be joining her soon!" He dashed to me, thrusting his keyblade at my heart. I caught it with my hand. I felt the Darkness seem into my skin from her heart. I felt her anger, her loneliness, and in an instant, my heart broke.

Repliku tried to pull his keyblade from my hand, but it wouldn't budge. "What the-?" He dematerialized it and jumped back, resummoning it. I levitated into the air, cocooned by a Dark Orb. I felt it empower me beyond what I have before or since, even while using the X-Blade. I broke free of the Orb, and landed on my feet. My Visor was back, and the Unversed symbol flashed on it. I drew the Void Gear, now white as my clothing. "Now it's your turn to feel anguish." I spoke, calmly.

Faster than even he could move, I was in front of him, slashing 5 hits at him. He managed to block them, feeling the force behind my attacks. This Darkness was beyond even the deepest, this was The Void. I eyed him and every possible attack he could use, Darkness or Light. Three orbs appeared around my keyblade. I levitated and fired an anormous beam of Dark Energy from them and the Void gear. "There's no escape!" He barely dodged it. I had used a shotlock. "What's going on?" He was panicking, overhwlemed by sudden speed and power. I stopped my attack, and appeared above him with an ice counter. He tried blocking, but my slash cut right through his guard. With just one attack, I had inflicted critical damage. He used Darkness to dash away from me to recover. He used Curaga on himself.

"Pathetic." I spoke, holding my keyblade into the air, supercharging it and extending its range. I felt as if I wielded the X-Blade again... My attacks were broad, and each one left burning marks and crevices into the ground. Attack after attack, I kept pressing him. He couldn't block, so he tried Refleza during my last slash. Just as he cast it, I stopped midair, vanishing. I was in my Dark Puddle now and instantly rose from the ground, sending a barrage of fireballs at him after breaking Refleza with my melee strike. He bled. Repliku had to keep going on the defensive. He warped on top of one of his rock pillar to get some distance, only to find me right in front of him again, slashing. He dodged, running out of breath. "Your heart will pay for her's." I heald the Void Gear forward, and engulfed in the Dark Orb again. Repliku tried to take advantage of this, sending powerful blasts of light at it. Nothing broke the shell. I sent out Dark Images of myself, each one good for one attack. He saw the first one emerge from the shell, but the second was already behind him and struck him in the back. His yellow eyes turned black. Temporary blindness. "Aaaauuugh!"

Now was my chance. I broke from the shell, and lunged forward with a downsward slash, followed by an upward slash. Along with it went a shockwave of dark energy, which he tried blocking. Again, the attack cut through the Keyblade of Heart. I warped to him just as his sight returned, and grabbed him by his face this time. "You took the only Light I had. It wasn't Ventus. Ventus was protecting me, protecting my new Light. I am all that's left of Artemisia, this Heart of Darkness. And for you, Darkness waits!" My Void Gear charged with intense energy and thrust into his heart. I dropped him. My burst of power was gone, Artemisia had given me what Darkness she had left, now it faded away. My visor vanished. I had white hair instead of black now, but it began to revert to its normal color just as the rest of me did.

I began to cry again. I had won the battle, the Keyblade of Heart began to crumble. "Why would you hurt someone else's Light? Why drag others down into the Darkness with you?"

"Hehe... you've forgotten."

"Forgotten?"

"Vanitas... What I am... is Darkness. I wanted to be real so I could be something else, just like you. In The Game, you either win, or you lose. My job was to make you lose, so I could have a Light, like yours."

I had nothing to say.

"In this game, one's job as a Reaper is to pull others down. I was jealous, looking at the two of you. I could never have it... a fake like me..." His heart began to crumble, just as Artemisia's had.

"Repliku... I can never forgive you for what you've done. I understand now, that it isn't okay. What I am, is Darkness, again. You took away my choice, my chance to be anything else."

"And you just took mine away. You killed me. Congratulations, we both lose..." he smiled, wincing a bit from the pain. "You get to play again next week... it was decided the moment you had a Light with Artemisia... I was going to let you both go, to win, then you turned on me. As a Reaper, if I didn't erase you both, I would have lost. Someone had to lose here."

"It's too bad it was everyone. I get another week, and I call that more of a curse now, without her."

"Right on the money... You killed your Reaper. Joshua will no doubt talk to you... As for me... I'll be lucky if he gives me another shot. You'll find another Light. As for me... I get to be Darkness..."

He faded away, heart vanishing into Darkness. I fell to my knees, now, alone. I cried, and my Unversed came back to haunt me. I hadn't the strength to kill them...

One more voice echoed in my heart, different from before. "Vanitas, our time together was the best I've ever had, but now it's time for me to be reuinited. I will stay here, in your heart, you won't be alone. You must find Aqua..."

That was all last week. I watched Sora wake up in Shibuya. I paid my price for the new week: I lost my connection to Light. Joshua told me I'd be his Reaper... So I'll push him. If I win, I get to see Artemisia again... That's all that matters.

"Well hey there kiddo" A man in Black Coat approached me... "I got a proposal for ya."


End file.
